Candles were essential household fixtures in the 1830s. The first electrical power plant in Texas was not built until the 1880s in Galveston, meaning candles and lanterns were the only means available to light one's way indoors or at night during the Texas Revolution.
It was important to be self-sufficient in a frontier household, where your nearest neighbor may be miles away, and the nearest store even further. Many early Texans hand-dipped their own candles using tallow or paraffin wax. Another popular type of candle was created from beeswax, created by rolling a honeycombed sheet of beeswax around a central wick.
See a demonstration of the candle-making process these frontiersmen and women used to create light for their homes, outside the San Jacinto Monument. Suitable for all ages.